A Different Breed
by Durotos
Summary: ToTT. "A smile on my face, a friendly wave, a polite howdy. I'm downright amiable. Not that I really stand around to chew the fat with anyone or anything, though. There's work to be done every day and animals are a big responsibility. Little did I know those responsibilities would soon have me questioning just how pleasant I really am…" Assigned Character Prompt - Georgia!


I think of myself as a pleasant sort. I'm willing to offer a helping hand when Ash needs a spare horse for deliveries, and I leave an extra tip for Howard when I eat at his place. Heck, I even wave and smile when Phillip tears through town on his horse, dragging his cart through the narrow streets faster than a prairie fire with a tail wind. I spend some time with Laney when she's practicing baking. We both like the company. We talk about things like the weather, our favorite foods, and how we both should stop eating so many sweets – the conversation is always light and happy. And does she like to gab! She talks ten words a second with gusts to fifty.

A smile on my face, a friendly wave, a polite howdy. I'm downright _amiable_. Not that I really stand around to chew the fat with anyone or anything, though. There's work to be done every day and animals are a big responsibility. Little did I know those responsibilities would soon have me questioning just how pleasant I really am…

I lived on a ranch out west with my pa my whole life before moving here to Bluebell. It's… different than the old town, but I think of it as home now. When I first traveled through the tunnel connecting Bluebell to Konohana, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the people of the neighboring town weren't all that bad. The way Rutger went on, you'd think the people there would steal the flowers off their own grandmothers' graves.

Speaking of grandmothers, the old lady that runs the tea house is sweeter than baby's breath, and so is her granddaughter, but I don't care too much for most of the things on the menu there. The old man that sells seeds is friendly enough, too, but that wasn't the reason I was there that day. Pa wanted me to check with the animal shop in Konohana to see if they had any spare kitten formula. Cam had found a litter of abandoned strays and had given them to us in exchange for the promise that we would find them good homes. We had an order put in for more formula, but it wasn't due here for another week.

There was no one at the counter of the shop, even though the sign on the door said _open_. I looked 'round back and saw a young man in the horse pen, cupping a mare's cheeks in his hands as he murmured to her. With muscular arms, a strong brow but warm brown eyes, and a head of thick brown hair – I wasn't about to complain about the view. Seeing that man look at a horse like that… I can see why my pa and this other fella here, too, took up the trade. The love is just written on their faces, plain as can see. I tend to get along with people who like animals, and I was certain he would have no problem helping me and Pa out of our predicament.

"Howd- er, hello, there." I forced myself into a more acceptable way of talking.

He glanced at me briefly, although he didn't remove his hands from the horse. "Can I help you with something?"

"Ah, yes. My pa- uh, father, rather, runs the animal shop over yonder in Bluebell. We were wonderin' if ya could spare some kitten formula. We just got an unexpected litter of little ones."

His eyes didn't move from the mare. He pushed the forelocks out of her face and gave her a light peck on the forehead. "Sure, I'll meet you in there."

I couldn't help but be touched by the way he patted the horse one last time before going 'round the back of the shop. "You're a lucky little filly, y'know," I murmured to her with a smile and headed to the front door.

Apparently, I spoke in a much louder volume than I thought I did, as the fella smirked at me as I stepped inside, pulling his gaze from the open window beside him. "For someone who works with animals, I thought you'd know she's far too old to be a filly." One thick brow was raised as he gave me a pointed look.

My cheeks felt hotter than a billy goat in a pepper patch. "Aw, I'm always givin' animals baby names. A dog can be twelve and I'm still callin' him a pup. Anyway, that's a sweet old mare you got out there."

"Hayate. It means _fresh breeze_." He turned around and shuffled through the shelves of products behind him. "She's my pride and joy." Snapping his fingers in frustration, he checked a lower shelf, rustling loudly. "We grew up together. She _was_ a stubborn little filly and refused to let me ride her when we were young, but the only one more stubborn was me. I hand-fed her until she trusted me enough to ride her. We don't do much riding anymore, since she has leg troubles, but she still means the world to me." A canister was placed on the countertop with a triumphant and noisy tap.

"She's still your baby girl," I replied, giving him a grin.

His eyes lit up like the Fourth of July, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. "I guess you could say that. She really is a great horse."

"Sounds a lot like my Dakota." I found myself leaning forward on the counter a bit. "Platinum Arabian. I've had 'er since I was five."

"Ah, Arabians are great horses." He gave me a pert nod, drumming on the top of the formula canister. "Kisos are nice, too. Hard to get a hold of, y'know. My father was able to get his hands on one a few years ago and moved away to train him in the right environment." He looked at the wooden statue of a horse in the corner of the room with a sad smile and let out a wistful sigh. "But… he really likes 'em… Good horses, they are…" His voice trailed off.

I could feel sadness in the air, so I quickly remedied it. "So are Mustangs." I offered him a smile, peeking out the window at his precious Hayate. The clock in his shop chimed loudly. I couldn't help but jump a bit at the sudden noise. "Ah, well, here I am, yammerin' on when there are hungry kittens waitin' back home. What do I owe ya?"

He shook his head, rubbing the crook of his neck with a slight smile, his cheeks darkening. "Nothing. I wouldn't dream of charging a pret- ah, I mean, a girl who knows her horses. It's just… Well, I'm sure Hayate would love to see you again," he stammered.

"Or you can come to see Dakota," I replied, twirling an auburn strand of hair around my finger. I twisted too hard and ended up pulling my own hair. I looked like a darn fool. "She wouldn't mind seein' ya, either. Y'all come by real soon now, y'hear?" I clapped my hands over my mouth, thoroughly embarrassed at how my dialect had slipped. It was always harder to control when I got excited.

"I can do that. Bluebell's pet shop." He gave me a quick wink as I walked backwards toward the door, giving him a farewell wave. I backed into the wall and let out a chuckle, wishing I could hide in a hole somewhere. Of all the times to have two left feet…

0o0o0o0

"I think I could eat your black forest cake all day," I admitted with a smile, wiping the chocolate from my lips.

"Thanks." Laney sat at the table across from me, digging into her own piece. "So how has the new litter of kittens been? Cam says he's been stopping by to see them every day."

I recalled the devastated look in our friend's eyes when I gave him the bad news yesterday, but I decided not to spoil our time together with something sad. If Laney was asking, she likely didn't know. I reckoned it would be best to keep it that way. After all, you shouldn't hang your wash on someone else's line. "Before we know it, they'll be ready for new homes. They were so scrawny when we took them in…" I hesitated one more time before continuing. "But they've been plumping up faster than a- … fast. Quickly." I stumbled over my words as I attempted to correct myself. Admittedly, the second hardest part about raising young kittens was not getting too upset when they were sold. The first was… well… it was time for cake and laughter. None of that talk. Anyway, there is something to be said about having an animal that was raised with love, and you have to have a heart as big as a whale to be able to handle the whole adoption process, because if you get too attached, it hurts.

A small chuckle escaped Laney's lips and I wondered for a brief moment if she was laughing at my language or something else entirely. "Well, if we keep eating this cake, we'll start getting pretty plump as well." She then proceeded to tell me about a diet some of the girls in town were trying.

I was glad she stopped talking about the kittens, but I still felt frustrated at the new topic. I hated it when she talked like this; it made me feel guilty for indulging myself, which I didn't think I did too often. Back in my old home, if you worked hard, you got to eat a lot. The women in Bluebell were too concerned over what other people thought. They'd all start making fools of themselves if someone told them it was fashionable. Jessica had given us a mild lecture when she caught us sharing half of a chocolate cake not too long ago. She was well-meaning, but it had still rubbed me the wrong way. I bit my lip at the memory; there was no need for me to be upset at Jess for trying to steer us in a healthy direction. Still, I forced a grin on my lips. "Ah, I guess you're right. Maybe I'll slow down after the next piece."

Laney shot me a stern look but it quickly faded into giggles. I found myself smiling as well; seriousness didn't suit our relationship. Any time I brought up something uncomfortable, Laney would gently steer the conversation to something more pleasant. I never left her place sad.

"Anything else new going on in your life? How was your trip to Konohana? Your dad said you went there to pick up some kitten formula."

The image of Kana resting his forehead against Hayate's popped into my mind and I felt a smile spread across my lips. "Oh, yeah, it was fine. The fella that runs the shop there is around our age, you know."

"He's running a whole store all by himself?" Laney considered this as she sucked the frosting off of her fork. "Well, I guess Cam kind of does that…"

I shook my head; it was completely different. "A store's a lot more work than a little stall, though," I pointed out. "His pa- er- father is out of town, so he's runnin' the place solo. He also is raisin' a bunch of animals for sale, and he has horses, too, just like us. He seems a real nice sort – he even gave us some formula for free. I got to meet his horse, too. I told him to come 'round soon…"

"Sounds nice." There was a look in Laney's eyes that caught me off guard. "He must be pretty cute, too."

I nearly choked on my bite of cake and quickly chased it down with a gulp of milk. "What are you goin' on 'bout, you silly girl?" I had mentioned nothing about the way he looked.

Her smile turned into a smirk, and I immediately felt my blood begin to pump in my ears. "It sure looks like I'm on the mark." I began to regret mentioning Kana at all. I didn't want what I had shared with him the other day to become cheap gossip fodder for our silly little talks. When I said nothing, her smirk only grew. "You're sweet on him; your face says it all." She gave a light laugh that irritated me for some reason. "After all, you're – how do you say it? – _redder than a whole bushel o' tomaters_!"

She had crossed the line, and my appetite for cake had vanished. The way she had added a folksy lilt to her voice… I thought I had made it plain as day that I was already self-conscious about the way I talked! In the years I had lived here in Bluebell, I had tried my best to adjust! I had half a mind to yell at her and call her out for the times I had seen her watching Phillip like she wanted to eat him with a spoon. Still, unease didn't suit our relationship. "Ah, I forgot I need to check on the young 'uns," I lied, standing up quickly, wincing at the fact I had brought up the kittens once more. I hated the way I had said that last word as it slipped out of my mouth and I bit my tongue so hard I thought it would bleed. I hadn't been in this state since I was fairly young, and I knew I had to get home or I was going to explode like a shaken bottle of soda pop.

"Tell me about him next time," Laney giggled, giving me what I'm sure was supposed to be a playful wink. I couldn't stand the sight of her in that moment and hurried out of the bakery, trying my best not to stomp home.

0o0o0o0

"Paaaw, Ah'm _hooome~_!" I let my thick twang ring out and it felt lovely. Laney could put that in her pipe and smoke it!

He poked his head into the main room from the kitchen. "Just in time. We have a guest. Remember Kana? We just had a couple of drinks, talking shop. He was telling me 'bout your visit, too. You want something to drink?"

I shook my head, feeling the heat in my face travel down my neck. Of all the times to let my accent hang out like that…

"How are the kittens doing?" Kana asked, giving me a quick glance. His eyes didn't stay on me for long and I was grateful.

I led the way to the wicker basket in the corner of the room that held the sleeping litter. As I stepped closer, there was a slight rustling as they began to mew, their weak cries sounding more like birds than cats. I had fed them a couple of hours ago, and they looked like they were waking up from their nap.

"Ah, I never fail to be amused by a cute kitten," Kana grinned, peeking into the basket. His hands were almost bigger than the little critters, I noticed as I watched him give them a soft stroke.

A yellow tabby let out a sharp squeak and I carefully picked him up. His tiny blue eyes blinked at me as he let out a big yawn, his pink tongue hanging out. "I get the feelin' this little fella's gonna be a cuddler."

The door flew open as Phillip, the local farmer, rushed into the room and handed my father a bag.

"I've got more out in the cart," he announced with a nod.

"Looks good." Pa turned toward me. "Phillip's here with the supplies. I'm going to help him in the barn."

"Alright." I gave Phillip a kind nod as he headed outside with Pa.

"Your dad said that the kittens had been abandoned. They look about three weeks old," Kana commented, gently handling a brown tabby.

Memories from the other day rushed back to my mind. Cam's shocked green eyes, the sound of Pa digging in the fresh earth with his spade; a tiny body covered in soft fur, but no warmth behind it…

"Something's wrong." His voice startled me and brought me back to the present. "Are you alright?"

I gave him a sad smile as I set the kitten back in the basket and focused some attention on the remaining sibling. The words that I had banned myself from saying in front of Laney now came flowing out of my mouth. "We… lost one the other day. They were so weak when we got them…" I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. "I-I mean, these things happen…" My eyes drifted toward the window toward the special patch of green grass that Pa had dug up just the other day.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. "That doesn't make it any easier."

I shook my head. "We tried everything." I felt my throat close up a bit. "It didn't come as too big of a surprise…" Whether it was from my discussion with Laney earlier or losing the kitten, I wasn't sure, but my surroundings began to wobble a bit as I realized my eyes were full of tears. I struggled to keep them open; I wasn't too keen on him seeing me blubbering. "You know how it can be," I explained with a forced chuckle, carefully keeping my tears in. "I'm sorry for mentioning it." I stroked the small brown tabby in my hands. She had a soft white belly that had been growing rounder by the day. This little one and her brothers were still doing alright, I reminded myself. "Sure are cute, aren't they?"

I looked up at Kana and his thick eyebrows were furrowed as if he was trying to figure something out. "I asked you what was wrong," he finally said. "You don't have to apologize for anything… especially for feeling sad about it." He set the brown kitten on the floor between us and carefully picked up the orange one in the basket, earning a few squeaky mews in response. "You give a part of your heart to the animals you take care of. Maybe no one asked you to, but there's nothing wrong with you doing that anyway." He paused, his eyes softening as he looked back up at me. "Nothing wrong at all."

The lump in my throat began to disappear as I set my kitten down and watched her stumble into her brother. Kana placed his kitten among his siblings and they proceeded to clumsily bump into each other amid a noisy chorus of tiny meows.

"You and your dad's kindness are the reason these three are alive, after all."

0o0o0o0

"This is the place." I led Kana to the lush green patch back by our apple tree. I felt my voice catch in my throat. "I wish we didn't need a place for this." There were a few stillborn and malnourished kittens and puppies we couldn't rescue buried here. I couldn't help but imagine their tiny bodies lined up in a row under the soil. A couple of old farm dogs that had traveled with us from out west, along with a few wild animals that we hadn't been able to save… A horrible accident involving a clumsy puppy that was far too curious for his own good... I felt my throat tighten once more.

"I'm glad you do, though." Kana's voice was gentle. He looked at me, and I felt my pulse race as his brown eyes locked onto my amber ones. "We're a different breed. A lot of people can't understand the way we feel. This kind of job requires a strong heart."

I felt a sad smile play at the corner of my mouth. His words had calmed me more than I realized. Once again, I thought of the way he handled the old mare at his place, cupping her cheeks and murmuring comforting words to her. I gave him a nod, overcome with a steady wave of giddiness at the memory. I suddenly felt happy as a hog in the mud. "And how!" Despite my grin, I covered my mouth with my hand. Why was speaking in a neutral dialect so hard for me?

He was peeling my hand from my face, and his cheeks were red. "I _like_ the way you talk. I think it's pretty… c-cute."

As if to prove him wrong, I let out a nervous laugh that sounded more like a braying donkey than anything else. "Well, if ya wanna see cute, we should mosey on over to Dakota's stall."

"Alright. Let me just give one more moment of silence for these animals."

I hushed and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the fact that his hand was still holding mine. It was large and it was calloused the way mine was. It was comforting, I decided. It felt nice to be in the company of someone who felt the same way as me.

"Georgia! So this must be the boy from Konohana!"

We both snapped to attention as Laney was leaning on the fencepost. She stood up straight and gave him a little curtsey. "I'm Laney. How do you do?"

His bushy eyebrows shot up as he cast me what looked like a bewildered glance. "Uh, Kana. Nice to meet you…"

"I'm Georgia's best friend. If you have time this afternoon, feel free to stop by the café. I run it with my dad. What have you two been up to?"

Kana's eyes moved from her to the plot of earth in front of us, as if silently scolding her for interrupting us.

"I was _just_ about to introduce him to Dakota!" I interjected in a perky voice. My stomach was jumping like water on a hot griddle and I was eager to break up the tension.

"After we take a moment for the kitten, right?" His stern brown eyes caught me off-guard. Kana hadn't struck me as the serious type, but it seemed as soon as animals got involved a switch would turn on.

Laney's eyes widened. "Kitten? Did something happen?"

He let go of my hand, much to my disappointment. "They lost one of them. Why else would we be standing in the burial grounds?"

My stomach sank. I had been trying to avoid unpleasantness around Laney and Kana had ruined it! Her face looked shocked. "Burial grounds? W-wow… I didn't know. I'm really sorry for your loss…"

"It's alright." The words that came out of my mouth didn't sound like mine. In that moment, I couldn't tell if I was more upset for the loss of the kitten or Laney's innocence.

She paced uncomfortably. "W-well, I didn't mean to interrupt. Again, I'm sorry." She hurried off back to the café with a quick nod of the head, moving faster than a bat out of hell.

I couldn't help but feel angry at Kana for so easily saying the words I had guarded from Laney's ears. My anger boiled over as his brown eyes locked onto mine.

"What were you thinking?!"

We both let out small gasps in unison. The fact that we had said the same words at the same time and had the same reaction would've been funny under different circumstances.

"Why did you tell her about the kitten?"

"Why _didn't_ you tell her? I thought she was your best friend."

"She is! I just don't talk to her about unpleasant things, is all!"

He looked at me, confused as a goat on AstroTurf – as if the words I had said made no sense at all. He fell silent and opened his mouth but didn't say anything for a moment.

I felt like I needed to defend myself. "You got _no business_ stickin' your nose into how I talk to my friends!"

"Huh…" He paused, folding his arms across his chest. I tried not to look too hard at the muscles on his bare arms or the way the wind caught his hair. "I thought it would be, seeing as you're my friend."

I did not like the idea of him telling me what to do, especially since he didn't know me very well. The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. "You're someone I've only talked to twice. I only came to your shop once to borrow some kitten formula!" For just a wink, I mourned the warm way I felt when he had held my hand and told me my accent was cute…

"Well, maybe I shouldn't have given it to you!"

The feelings were forgotten. I saw red. Pa always told me that I needed to control my temper, but how was I supposed to when Kana was regretting feeding the starving kittens?! I thought of the burial plot we were standing on. Did that mean nothing to him? Did he think he could hurt me without expecting the same in exchange?

"You're so low you have to look up to see hell! You don't care about _anything_! Nothing but that old mare you named after a _fart_!"

His jaw dropped and his ugly caterpillar eyebrows furrowed. "Wh-What?!"

"Hayate, right? _Fresh breeze_?" I blew a loud raspberry. "There's a fresh breeze for you!"

I could see him struggling to think of a comeback, but thinking looked like it was difficult for someone as slow as him. "I should go. I don't even have to look at your flea-bitten horse to know Hayate's better."

How _dare_ he say that about Dakota?! My baby did nothing to him! What a low-down-good-for-nothing skunk! "I'm sure you'd know, seeing as you come from a line of people that care more about horses than human beings!"

A small gasp escaped his lips and his pupils dilated. His face grew pale and he just stared at me in disbelief. The following silence was painful. I knew I had said too much. Anything to make this end... It was too late for me to apologize.

"Go on! You can just mosey on home, then! Go crawl back under the rock you came from!" I spat, tearing my eyes from his. I shooed him away with the wave of a hand.

He didn't say anything until he was standing at the gate of the pasture. "Now I know why I never leave home," he finally replied, jamming his hands into his pockets and walking away.

"Don't let the gate hit you on the way out!" My voice was far louder than it should've been, but I didn't care. It was dangerously close to cracking, and I didn't want him to hear that.

Kana was a ways off the property when Pa flung the door open. "What in tarnation are you yelling about, Georgia?! That's not how we talk to customers!"

Now that he was gone, it was much easier to get angry than depressed. "Kana is no customer of ours," I replied, folding my arms across my chest, "and if I never see him again, it will be too soon."

I could see his eyes flying back and forth between me and the retreating young man. "Wh-what happened? What did he do, Georgia?"

I thought of the hurt look in Laney's eyes and my shoulders slouched. Sadness had returned more easily than I thought it could. "He, uh, called Dakota a flea-bitten mule," I replied absentmindedly.

"Really? He seemed so nice when we were talking together earlier…"

I wormed past him and pushed my way into the house, closing my bedroom door behind me. I didn't feel like talking anymore. I slumped onto my bed and grabbed my pillow, tucking it under my chin and hugging it to my body. Tears sprang to my eyes and I pressed my face against the cushion. I lost track of time.

I didn't see anyone for the next week. I stayed in the back of the shop while Pa took care of things behind the counter. Laney stopped in once, asking my dad if I could join her for tea. She got a new dress she was eager to show off.

I told her that I had a migraine and locked myself back into my room, ignoring the hurt look on her face. After a little while, a headache did start to form, and I felt lower than a gopher hole. Strangely enough, I had really wanted Laney to mention something about the kitten. I wanted her to ask me what was wrong. I wanted there to be a reason why Kana looked so confused about my relationship with her. Was I really a bad friend?

0o0o0o0

"Georgia… I see that Kana boy coming up the walk…"

"Well, he can just keep on walkin', then! I got nothin' to say to him!"

Pa frowned. "Maybe he's stopping by because he wants to patch things up with you." It was after hours; he sure as heck wasn't coming over to buy puppy chow.

"It'll be a cold day in Hades when that happens! That boy's so full of himself he could strut sitting down!"

I guess Pa was sick of the slammed buckets and stomping boots. "Georgia, you've only been getting angrier and angrier since your feud with him. Don't you think it would be best to try to set things right?"

I hated how he made it sound like it was completely my fault. I had been trying my best to ignore that. It was kind of hard to do, though, and it easily became all I could think about. A knock on the door interrupted me from my thoughts.

"Who is it?" I asked, nervously standing in the doorway.

"It's Kana. Georgia, look, I thought we could talk…"

I said nothing, but I turned on my heel to walk to my room and ignore him.

"Why do you always avoid uncomfortable situations? Answer me!" His voice was muffled behind the door.

There was a tone of desperation in his voice that kept me from walking away. I leaned against the solid oak, blinking away tears. "Because they're… _uncomfortable_ , just like you said!"

"Come outside and meet me in the horse pen." His voice was firm, but not mean.

I blinked in surprise. Why was he ordering me around? Still, I felt the fight leave me.

"Pa? I'm… I'm going outside to talk to Kana." I could hardly believe my own ears.

"Please do." My father let out a sigh as he took a seat in the kitchen with a fresh glass of sweet tea. "I think it'll be good for both of you."

My mind flooded with possibilities of what Kana could be doing as I hurried outside. He could challenge me to a duel or be kicking my precious Dakota. What if he spat in my face? I really wasn't sure what to expect anymore, and my imagination ran out of control.

I was pleasantly surprised to see him standing respectfully at the gate to the pasture, his hands tucked behind his back. At first glance, a fella could be tricked into thinking he was a right gentleman.

I wanted everything to be back to normal, but this all felt a mite suspicious. "Why didn't you open the gate?"

He pulled a bundle from behind his back. They were the long stalks of violet blooms and the bright color was enough to lift my mood a bit. "My hands were full."

I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. Despite the flattery, I wasn't going to be swayed by some sissy flowers; I was made of stronger stuff! "Are you seriously thinking that a bouquet of flowers is gonna do the trick? Surely Cam told you that it's not that easy!"

"Cam?"

"Yeah, the florist you bought these off of!"

Kana shook his brown head. "These are from my own personal patch. Catmint. They're one of Hayate's favorites. They calm her down and help with her leg pain… I-I thought Dakota might like 'em, too."

My eyes softened as I accepted the bundle. "That's… actually very thoughtful. Thanks." Fantasies played in my mind of us feeding the flowers to Dakota and laughing through the pasture. Real life wasn't that simple.

He looked as if he was reading my mind. "Wanna see if she likes them?"

For a brief moment, I wondered if he had poisoned them, but I swiftly remembered the pained look in his eyes the week before. I gave a small nod and whistled her over. Hair bouncing in the sunlight, Dakota trotted up to us and happily munched on the offered stalk of flowers offered by Kana.

"I'm sorry I insulted Dakota. She's beautiful. I mean, Hayate will always be-" He caught himself and shut his mouth. "Y-you know how it can be… Dakota's your baby; Hayate's mine."

"Yeah." I felt like my voice was too loud as I absentmindedly stroked Dakota's neck.

"So…" He paused and grabbed another stalk of catmint, watching my horse munch on the end. "I came to apologize for the way I acted."

I didn't say anything in reply. I'm sure he was waiting for me to say the same thing, but a simple "I'm sorry" wasn't going to make everything better, especially after what I said about his father.

He let out a small sigh, watching Dakota's lips move as she chomped on her treat. "I bumped into Laney on the way into town."

My stomach twisted in knots and I felt a little dizzy. I tried to make my leaning on the fence look casual. "Oh, yeah?" Nonchalance didn't suit me, and I'm sure he could tell that my voice was strained.

"She was apologizing for interrupting the other day. She asked what had happened to the kitten, and I… well, I didn't lie to her."

I clenched my teeth and looked over the other side of the fence; I wanted to look anywhere but his face. "Did you make her cry?" My words were accusing, hard.

He was silent for a moment, and I found myself whirling around to face him, my cheeks hotter than blazes. This was the reason why I didn't talk about that kinda stuff with her! Laney was my _best_ friend. It seemed only fitting that she only hear the _best_ news and conversations with me.

"She said she stopped by your house the other day to talk." He rubbed the back of his neck and moved his eyes to the ground. "She said that she had bought a new dress and wanted to ease you into talking about what had happened to the kitten. She was… pretty upset that you didn't even want to talk to her."

She knew I was lying about not being able to see her… Moreover, she _had_ cried, and I was the one that caused it… Guilt settled in the pit of my stomach like a ball of acid. I wasn't really sure what to say. "I don't hang my wash on anyone else's line," I explained simply, forgetting to catch my dialect and colloquialisms.

"Well, what about me?"

My heart gave a funny jolt; he was absolutely right. "Well, uh… I guess you're an exception. Like you said, we're a different breed."

He turned back the dial on his aggressive expressions. "It feels nice to be able to talk about things that are bothering you, doesn't it?"

I gave a slight nod. Why did my eyes have to start watering at a time like this? I quickly brushed them off on my sleeve, sniffing. "Ah, got something in my eye."

He didn't say anything in reply to it, but judging from the soft smile he gave me, he didn't believe me for a moment. "Don't you want to be that for Laney? To be someone she can depend on and share her feelings with?"

I nodded, but I couldn't help wondering. "Why do _you_ care, anyway? You only talked to Laney a couple of times."

"And it's obvious to see that you mean a great deal to her."

I wasn't sure if I felt sad or happy to hear that. He seemed awfully hung up on Laney, and I didn't know why it kind of bothered me. I could hardly blame the fella, though. Laney was pretty, friendly, and a good cook to boot…

"And I know we haven't known each other long, but… I don't want you to lose what you have with her. And I don't want us to lose what _we_ have." He was looking at the grass like it was terribly fascinating, but I could see that his ears were red.

I felt a wonderful glow and my jealousy faded. "I don't want to lose that either." I gave the last bit of catmint to Dakota and gave her a hug around the neck.

"Y'know… Dakota sure is a lucky little filly," Kana chuckled.

It felt like ages ago when I had said the same thing about Hayate, and hearing him say it brought a stupid grin to my face. Had he meant it the same way I had? Dakota happily trotted off, leaving me alone with my silly expression and his gaze.

Had it really only been a couple of weeks since I met this man and found a companion who loved horses as much as I did? Who shared a bit of their heart with their animals and wasn't afraid to talk about ugly things? I knew a visit to the café was due very soon. This open, freeing feeling – I wanted to have that with Laney as well. I wanted to have that with _everyone_.

"I'm not too unlucky myself," I replied, looking up at him.

 _ **0o0o0o0**_

 _ **Author's Note: Phew, did I have trouble writing this one! I hope it doesn't show! I really wanted to experiment with a more laid-back, conversational style. (I also got a chance to feature one of my favorite ships for this Harvest Moon title!) I find Georgia adorable, and I enjoy that her manner of speaking is a bit unique. I wanted to build on that, but I really struggled finding that sweet spot of the right amount of Texan dialect. I hope it contributed to the story instead of taking away from it. I'd love feedback on what you enjoyed or how you think it could be improved. Thanks so much for reading, and a big thank you to SaoirseParisa for hosting the prompt and assigning characters! Until next time! :D**_


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